THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1. Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration to make a point. Look at the first

paragraph. What phrase used by the narrator is an example of hyperbole? Write
down the full sentence that includes the hyperbolic element. Does this line make
you more sympathetic or less toward the narrator/murderer? Why?

“Fortunato had hurt me a thousand times and I had suffered quietly.” This makes the
reader more sympathetic to the narrator because you start pitting him. The reader can
relate to how being hurt can lead to certain behavior.

2. Montresor tells us, “A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its

redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as
such to him who has done the wrong.” In your own words, explain what this
means.

Montresor is simply saying that revenge is not successful if the avenger gets caught
and punished, and, further, that the avenger will not feel satisfied with his revenge
unless the victim knows who is responsible.

3. What is it about Montresor that makes him an especially effective enemy to

Fortunato? Give an example from a book you’ve read or a lm/T.V. show you’ve
seen in which this type of villain exists.

Montresor has a well understanding of others, in specific of Fortunato. He knows the

strategies he could use to lure Fortunato underground and how he will carry out the
murder. He knows that Fortunato is a bibulous who likes to drink wine, so he attracted
Fortunato, claiming that he needs a good judge to try the Amontillado with him. He
knows well how to manipulate his enemy. An example of a similar villain is Professor
Quirrel from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

4. Fortunato, who has been out drinking and enjoying Carnival, is wearing a
clown’s hat. Symbolically, why is this an interesting–and appropriate– costume
choice by the writer, Edgar Allan Poe?

The costume an appropriate costume for Fortunato because of the way he handles
himself throughout the story, he likes to make jokes and be very social which
eventually gets him in trouble with Montresor. The costume of Fortunato is also
considered as an irony in the story.
5. To whom, do you suppose, is Montresor telling this story? Upon what evidence
do you base your assumption?

I assume that Montresor is not speaking his story aloud to anyone, including any
confessor. The story looks like something that was written out on paper. There are too
many details in which a person is speaking directly to another person would not be
likely to include.

6. Name three of the many clever things Montresor does to lure Fortunato into his
trap.

o He gets the attention of the drunken Fortunato by telling him about a "pipe" of
Amontillado that he has acquired during the Carnivale season.

o Tells Fortunato that he has acquired Luchesi to by the taste-tester to tell if it is

truly Amontillado, but mentions that he does not think Luchesi is good enough
to know the difference between Cherry and Amontillado. This ploy tricks
Fortunato, who is prideful in his palate and claims he would be the best judge.

o Montresor gradually offers many different kinds of drinks to Fortunato,

keeping him constantly drunk so he is unaware of what is really going on and
will not be able to escape or fight back.

7. How did Montresor ensure that no servants would be around to witness the
crime?

He purposely tells his servants to take care of the house, because he is not coming
back to the house, but he knows that they wouldn’t do it, as it means a free night for
them. That guarantees an empty house to commit the murder.

8. Poe uses several elements of foreshadowing. Write down (or paraphrase) two
lines that foreshadow the grisly event at the end of the tale.

o “I shall not die of a cough, and Montresor replies "True, true."

o "The bells upon his cap jingled as he strode."

9. Locate and write down a line that includes verbal irony.

"The cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough."
10. When Montresor offers the Medoc wine to Fortunato, what is the reason he gives
for wanting the other man to drink? What is the real reason? Why does
Montresor also have a drink?

o He says that Fortunato should drink it because it would help warm him,
countering the damp coldness of the underground tunnels.
o He wants to get Fortunato drunk.
o He drinks some himself to keep himself warm and keep and control his nerves
against the crime he was about to commit.

11. At the end of the story, what makes Montresor feel sick?

The dampness of the catacombs make Montresor feel sick. His sick feelings represent
remorse for his actions.

12. Is Montresor a reliable or unreliable narrator? Explain your answer.

He is an unreliable narrator, since from the beginning to the end of the story, readers are
unable to understand why Montresor wants revenge against Fortunato. Even when the
story ends, readers still don’t know what Fortunato did to Montresor, making his actions
somewhat questionable.

13. Poe is a master at creating an eerie, suspenseful mood in his stories. Dig back
into the text of this story and write down two lines that help establish this mood.
Yes, I want you to write down the full line.

Poe uses imagery to develop the eerie nature of the story.

 "We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and
puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs."

14. Montresor acts as judge, jury, and executioner of Fortunato. Is there any
crime/offense that Fortunato could have unwittingly committed that would make
Montresor’s rage seem reasonable to you? Do you think individuals are ever
justified in taking justice into their own hands? Explain your thoughts.

I think that there is a possibility for the supposed action Fortunato did towards
Montresor to be an accident. We don’t know what he specifically did, so suppositions
can be made regarding Fortunato’s crime towards Montresor. Since Montresor never
said what Fortunato did to him, his rage might seem unreasonable to many readers. I
believe that no individual should ever take justice into their own hands. Those who do
so act out of rage, making them do unspeakable actions. As seen in the Cask of
Amontillado, Montresor takes justice into his own hands, trapping Fortunato, his best
friend, inside a wall and leaving him to die.